Essay Question Following is the findings of a scientific art

[Essay Question] Following is the findings of a scientific article that a student reported. Take a look at the following evaluation of a research article and spark any ideas or point out any mistakes.

1. Referenced journal: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3553934/

2. Journal reputation - The prestige of the journal is important; where an article is published matters. What do you know about the journal that this article was published in? Who funds it? Is it for profit or not for profit? What is the history of the journal? Is it new or does it have a prestigious past? Why do they publish articles? (Hint: visit the main site for details)

The article is published in British Medical Journal (BMJ). The BMJ is a peer-reviewed journal of repute. This is among the oldest journals of the world. The journal is published by British Medical Association. It was initially called as British Medical Journal, until 1998, when it is officially renamed to abbreviation BMJ. It was first published in 1840 as Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal. The first journal was 16 pages long. The Thomson Reuter\'s impact factor of the journal is 19.697. The mission of the journal is to stimulate debate among the doctors, scientists, and health workers for the betterment of the medical science.

3. Title - (very important) It is what the reader first encounters and then decides whether to continue or not. The title should pose a question, emphasize the main conclusions, or possibly have some sort of impact on the reader other than describing the nature of the study. How does the title of your chosen article function? Could it be improved?

The title of the article is \"Treatment for acute anterior cruciate ligament tear: five year outcome of randomised trial\". The title of the article is very impressive. However, it could have been improved by adding the gist of the outcome.

4. Abstract - The abstract should be understandable on its own and not need to make references to the entire article. What is the abstract like in your chosen article? Do you know all that there is to know of the material?

The abstract in the chosen article is understandable on its own. It is nicely written and concise.

5. Key Words - They should be relevant and helpful, are they? Do they tell you what the main ideas of article are?

Keywords are not given in the article. However, keywords would be helpful for readers to understand what the article is about before they read.

6. Structure - Does the research article follow the IMRAD structure? If not, what structure does it follow? Does the structure affect your understanding of the research?

Yes, the manuscript follows IMRAD structure. The paper has Introduction, Methods, Results and, Discussion (IMRaD). The structure helps the understanding of the research.

7. References - How many references does the article have? Are they varying types of references? What does this mean?

The article has 41 references. The references are varying type. The references include citation of the research articles, reviews, follow up studies, book chapters, and reports. Varying type of references includes citing references to journal articles, chapters of the books, books, new papers, progress reports etc.

8. Data displays - What type of information is included in the tables, charts, etc? How is the information/data visually displayed? Is it helpful or distracting for understanding the study?

Mean values of the observations are given in the tables and the proportions are given as line graph. The information /data is concisely displayed as mean values. The tables and graphs are helpful. The point to point depiction of data in figures or compilation in a table help to understand the data unambiguously.

References

1. Frobell RB, Roos HP, Roos EM, et al. Treatment for acute anterior cruciate ligament tear: five year outcome of randomised trial. BMJ. 2013;346:f232. doi:10.1136/bmj.f232.

Solution

1) Mistake: It was initially called as British Medical Journal, until 1998, when it is officially renamed to abbreviation BMJ.

Correction: Originally it was called as the British Medical Journal, then the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988, and then changed to The BMJ in 2014.